"The best nine of all time." That's Luis Suarez's verdict on Ronaldo Nazario, posted to X alongside a photo of the two strikers together — no caveats, no qualifiers. Just a man who has spent 20 years around elite forwards making a call.
Coming from Suarez, it carries weight. He's played alongside Messi. He's competed against the best of his generation. When El Pistolero puts someone above everyone else at the nine position, that's not a throwaway caption.
Kane got his moment too
A few days before the Ronaldo post, Suarez shared another image — this one with Harry Kane, both men holding each other's No. 9 shirts during the ongoing 2026 World Cup. "With a great 9! A pleasure to meet you," Suarez wrote. Two of the most clinical finishers of the modern era, swapping jerseys on the biggest stage.
The contrast between the two tributes is telling. Ronaldo gets "best of all time." Kane gets "great 9" and a warm handshake. Suarez clearly has a hierarchy in his head, and R9 sits above everyone — including the current Bayern Munich and England captain who has broken scoring records across two of Europe's toughest leagues.
What 600-plus goals earns you
At 38, Suarez is winding down at Inter Miami alongside Messi and Busquets in MLS, but his right to make these assessments is unimpeachable. Ajax. Liverpool. Barcelona. Atletico Madrid. Uruguay's all-time top scorer. The MSN trio. A Champions League. A European Golden Shoe. La Liga titles on two different sides of Madrid.
That's not a sentimental career retrospective — that's the actual résumé of someone whose opinion on elite strikers should be taken seriously.
Ronaldo Nazario. Best nine of all time, according to the man who probably comes closest to challenging him for that conversation.
